Worldwide Sports News

Since the arrival of interleague play in 1997, there have been nearly a regular season’s worth of regular season games played between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. These 152 games have included some of the many feats and oddities you’d expect from a season’s worth of play, from three-homer games to wacky walk-offs to proper routs. They’ve also seen certain players distinguish themselves from the pack, whether for specific in-game accomplishments or cumulative totals.

As another edition of the Subway Series is set to begin—this time featuring a whole new cast of Mets ready to make their mark on the crosstown rivalry—it seems a fitting moment to check in on the state of the series’ record book, from all-time leaders to single-game leaders to Statcast superlatives. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but rather a sampling of some of the standout highlights. So let’s hop on board, stand clear of the closing doors, and take a brief ride through 29 seasons of Subway Series baseball…

Most Hits, GAME
Brett Gardner (5) – June 26, 2009

Rookie Brett Gardner gave Citi Field a rude introduction to the Subway Series. The 25-year-old hit leadoff, going 5-for-6 with three singles, a double, and a late homer off Elmer Dessens in the veteran right-hander’s second game as a Met. Pesky as ever, all three of Gardner’s singles came on softly-hit flairs which found grass just beyond the infield, while his homer barely cleared the fence in the right-field corner. The Mets’ only offense in the 9-1 loss came courtesy of Gary Sheffield’s 508th (and penultimate) career home run.

Most Home Runs, GAME
Francisco Lindor (3) – September 12, 2021

The only three-homer game in Subway Series history belongs to Francisco Lindor, who accomplished the feat in the midst of a relatively underwhelming first season in Flushing. Lindor carried a .222 average and .696 OPS into the night, but all that seemed to disappear as he hit a trio of clutch homers (two of them putting the Mets in the lead) during an emotional subway series on the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Lindor got his first curtain call, his first of many iconic Mets moments, and his only career three-homer game to date.

Most RBI, GAME
Carlos Delgado (9) – June 27, 2008

Forget Subway Series records — Carlos Delgado’s nine-RBI effort in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium tied a Mets franchise record. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he tallied all his RBI in just four innings. In the top of the fifth, he laced a two-run single. In the sixth, he crushed a grand slam to the back of the bleachers in right-center field. In the eighth, he punctuated the performance with a three-run homer off future Met LaTroy Hawkins.

Most Strikeouts, GAME
Jacob deGrom (12) – August 13, 2018 / Dillon Gee (12) – May 30, 2013

Both of these 12-strikeout performances came on the road at Yankee Stadium, and contrary to what you might guess, Gee’s outing was actually far more dominant than deGrom’s. The 2018 Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs (two of them earned) on five hits and two walks in 6.2 innings of work, while Gee went 7.1 innings and allowed just one run on a solo shot from Robinson Canó.

Gee has another entry on the Subway Series leaderboard, as his start on July 2, 2011 is tied with Tylor Megill’s on September 10, 2021 for most whiffs (18) by a Met, but Masahiro Tanaka has them both beat with 22 on May 14, 2014. The day after that Tanaka masterpiece, the Yankees were set to face Gee’s spot in the Mets’ rotation, but the right-hander went down with a lat strain. The Yankees instead faced a 26-year-old making his MLB debut named…Jacob deGrom. In classic deGrom fashion, he ended up on the short end of a 1-0 pitchers’ duel. It was the first 1-0 finale in Subway Series history, and the only one to date.

Most Hits, CAREER
1. Derek Jeter (131)
2. Alex Rodriguez (65)
3. David Wright (62)
4. Robinson Canó (61)
5. Brett Gardner/José Reyes (53)

Jeter laps the field here. Literally. His 131 Subway Series hits are more than double any other player’s total, accumulated over 88 games played (which also rank first). A-Rod, Wright, and Canó are neck-and-neck in the battle for second place, with 7 of Canó’s 61 hits coming in a Mets uniform. But just as predictable as Jeter’s ranking atop this leaderboard was Wright’s ranking atop the Mets’ side. The 12th of his 62 hits, a soaring single to straightaway center off Mariano Rivera, represented one of the most memorable walk-offs in franchise history,

Most Home Runs, CAREER
1. Aaron Judge (14)
2. Derek Jeter/Alex Rodriguez (13)
3. Jorge Posada (12)
4. Pete Alonso/Robinson Canó/Curtis Granderson/Mark Teixeira (11)

Judge’s solo homer off Justin Hagenman on July 3 last season moved him into a tie with Jeter and A-Rod, and his two-run homer off Brandon Waddell two days later made him the Subway Series’ new home run king. Alonso was climbing up the leaderboard at a breakneck pace, clubbing 11 homers in 32 games against the Bombers. This likely would have been a two-man race for years to come if Alonso had returned to the Mets, but instead he has taken his Yankee-killing talents to Baltimore, picking up right where he left off with a pair of homers in his first series back in the Bronx earlier this month. That leaves Judge to continue adding to his total relatively unthreatened. Canó and Granderson, meanwhile, sneak into the leaderboard with help from stints on both side of the rivalry.

Most Stolen Bases, CAREER
1. Derek Jeter (19)
2. José Reyes (14)
3. Roger Cedeño/Alfonso Soriano (9)
5. David Wright (8)

This is a Roger Cedeño stat. Jeter, Reyes, and Wright all had over 200 Subway Series plate appearances to climb their way onto this leaderboard. Soriano had 99. Cedeño had 71. In 17 Subway Series games, Cedeño slashed .323/.371/.492. Five of his nine stolen bases came during 1999 (a season in which he swiped 66 bags for the Mets) and one of those five was a steal of home. The other four came in his second stint in New York from ’02-’03. Still, the accumulators win out, with Jeter and Reyes unsurprisingly leading the pack.

Most Saves, CAREER
1. Mariano Rivera (20)
2. Armando Benítez/Edwin Díaz/Billy Wagner (5)
5. Aroldis Chapman/Francisco Rodríguez (4)

Behind Rivera, who accounts for over 25% of saves recorded for either side in Subway Series history, a trio of Mets closers are tied for second place despite varying degrees of effectiveness. Wagner pitched to a 4.66 ERA in 9.2 IP, Benítez maintained a respectable 3.00 ERA in 15 IP, and Díaz was absolutely dominant, posting an 0.96 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 9.1 IP. A pair of fireballers in Chapman and Rodríguez are tied at fifth. The players with the most likely chance to enter the leaderboard this season are ex-Yankees Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, each of whom picked up a Subway Series save against the Mets last season.

Longest-projected Home Run (Statcast era/since 2015)
1. Aaron Judge (457 ft) – August 16, 2017
2. Aaron Judge (453 ft) – August 23, 2022 / Gary Sánchez (453 ft) – August 30, 2020
4. Giancarlo Stanton (443 ft) – September 12, 2021 / Juan Soto (443 ft) – July 24, 2024
6. Francisco Lindor (436 ft) – September 12, 2021

Judge’s mammoth 457-foot blast off Robert Gsellman on August 16, 2017 landed in the third deck in left field, and landed him a share of the tenth spot on the list of longest homers hit at Citi Field (his teammate Stanton has the No. 2 entry on that list). Lindor’s second homer in his three-homer game sits at sixth as the highest Mets entry on this leaderboard, one of two dingers included from that game along with Stanton’s game-tying shot a half inning later. Judge and Sánchez split second place, each with a homer well up the left-center-field bleachers at Yankee Stadium (though for Sánchez’s homer, a go-ahead grand slam off Drew Smith in August 2020, the bleachers were eerily empty). Soto, meanwhile, ranks with a moonshot to Monument Park off future teammate Sean Manaea.

Fastest Pitch (Pitch-tracking era/since 2008)
1. Aroldis Chapman (102.7 mph) – August 15, 2017
2. Aroldis Chapman (101.9 mph) – June 9, 2018
3. Aroldis Chapman (101.6 mph) – June 9, 2018
4. Aroldis Chapman (101.5 mph) – June 9, 2018
5. Aroldis Chapman (101.3 mph) – June 9, 2018
6. Bobby Parnell (101.1 mph) – July 1, 2011

The five fastest pitches all belong to Chapman, with four of those coming in one inning to a trio of 2018 Mets including José Reyes, José Bautista, and Devin Mesoraco. But the single fastest pitch he threw in a Subway Series game resulted in a game-ending grounder off the bat of Juan Lagares ten months earlier. The sixth-fastest (and top ranked by a Met) belongs to Bobby Parnell, who recorded what’s listed as a 101.1 mph fastball to strike out Nick Swisher and end the top of the eighth inning in a Mets loss.

Biggest Wins
1.Yankees 15, Mets 0 – June 14, 2009
2. Mets 12, Yankees 2 – June 26, 2024 / Mets 12, Yankees 2 – June 9, 2000

June 14, 2009 was not Johan Santana’s day. The left-hander entered the start with a 2.39 ERA and exited with a 3.29 ERA after allowing nine runs in three innings of work. The Yankees didn’t stop there, racking up four more runs off Brian Stokes and getting another pair off Jon Switzer, marking the third-to-last outing of the latter’s career. Jeter went 4-for-4, while Hideki Matsui and Robinson Canó both went deep. Somehow, it was not the Mets’ most deflating loss of the series, as two days earlier an infamous pop-up popped in and out of the glove of Luis Castillo. But the Mets have more Subway Series wins by a 10+ margin, with 12-2 victories in 2000 and 2024. Each featured a trio of homers — the first from Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Derek Bell, and the second from Francisco Alvarez, Tyrone Taylor, and Harrison Bader. The first game also came in an Al Leiter/Roger Clemens pitchers’ duel which turned out one-sided.

Longest/Shortest Games
Longest: Yankees 4, Mets 2 (f/10) (4 hours, 36 minutes) – June 14, 2002
Shortest: Yankees 4, Mets 2 (f/7) (2 hours, 14 minutes) – July 4, 2021

There’s a cruel irony in the fact that the longest and shortest games in Subway Series history — two polar opposite games in some respects — ended up with the exact same result. The ’02 marathon’s length was no doubt aided by Mets starter Steve Trachsel, often referred to as “The Human Rain Delay” for his slow pitching pace. The Mets led 2-0 at Shea Stadium by virtue of a walk and passed ball in the third inning, but the Yankees clawed back with an RBI single from Bernie Williams in the eighth and another by Derek Jeter in the ninth to tie it. A homer from then-Yankee Robin Ventura in the top of the tenth was the deciding factor. The ’21 sprint was aided by the short-lived seven-inning-doubleheader rule, allowing the low-offense contest (the two teams combined for seven total hits in seven innings) to conclude abruptly when the seventh-inning stretch would normally occur.

Walk-Off Wins
Mets: 10 (Luis López, Matt Franco, Shane Spencer, David Wright, Jason Bay, Lucas Duda, Amed Rosario*, Pete Alonso*, Starling Marte, Brandon Nimmo)
Yankees: 5 (Tino Martinez, Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Russell Martin*, Gio Urshela)
* = walk-off home run

If there’s one area of the Subway Series where the Mets have properly outdone the Yankees, it’s walk-offs. The Mets have twice as many walk-off victories as the Bronx Bombers, with the total reaching double digits as of Brandon Nimmo’s double off Nick Ramirez in June 2023.

But I close the journey through Subway Series records with this stat not only for its uplifting Mets slant, but also because there is one related feat still up for grabs: no player has racked up multiple Subway Series walk-offs.

This season, there’s a prime candidate in Amed Rosario, who oddly enough already has a walk-off at Yankee Stadium against the Yankees during a chaotic covid scheduling snafu. Has anyone ever had a walk-off hit for and against the same team in the same stadium? Some cities’ teams shared ballparks back in the early 20th century, but those teams were divided by league in a time before interleague play. It would come at the cost of a Mets win, but if Rosario pulled it off, he could earn himself a distinction in baseball history as well as Subway Series history.

I always like to start previews with my favorite prospect. That’s often someone the Phillies have no chance at, but not this year. A reclassicification of draft eligibility made this year’s mystery box my favorite, most intriguing option. Grindlinger is a left handed Outfielder and Pitcher and is a potential 1st/2nd rounder in both roles. He also has a perfect name for Philly, who would certainly love someone to grind it out in either role for a decade or more. The catch is Grindlinger will be one of the youngest players to be drafted in league history as he’s currently 17 years old as of April 16th. He’s already 6’3” and 185lbs and at barely 17 there’s a chance a little more growth may be coming. He’s committed to University of Tennessee for College. He reclassified to the 2026 draft in mid-February, so I don’t get the sense he plans on sticking to that commitment barring a drop in draft stock

The draft stock is tough to gauge, as Baseball America mocked him to the Phillies in their first mock draft and didn’t have him at all in their second and in their third mock, they have him going 20th. He was the #3 prep prospect in the 2027 class, so it’s reasonable he’d still be a first rounder here. Teams also seem to be flip-flopping a bit on what role he’s better in. At first it was solidly pitching, but consensus seems to have moved to hitting. I’ll write up both here.

I’ll start with Pitching, since that seems to have taken a bit of a backseat in his profile, I’ll give more of a Cliff Notes version. This is still a very viable path for him in the pros though. As a Pitcher, he already has an Above-Average Fastball that sits mid-90’s and he can get up to 96 to go along with a low 80’s Slider and Changeup. Both could end up Above-Average or better. Grindlinger throws from a 3/4 slot and the 4-seamer shows good carry and arm side tail. He has a good track record of throwing all 3 for strikes, though like all Prep Pitchers all 3 pitches need some work on consistency and command. The ceiling is probably #2 Starter.

As a hitter the hype train has really gotten rolling for Grindlinger. To be honest, I get it for the potential, but there are also some warning signs that I think will limit how high he can go in the draft. Everything is projection at this point. While that’s true for all prep players, it’s especially so here. He’s well beyond his years at the plate showing patience and elite contact rates in and out of the zone. He simply doesn’t swing at things he can’t put in play. This sounds great, but he’s also facing fellow prep arms with a mixed bag of secondaries. Part of the concern stems from his bat speed being below average, the other part comes from him having a flat bat path and a likely trade off trading contact for power in pro ball. He already manages average power, but he’s likely destined for Right Field as a pro where his 55 grade speed and plus arm can best play up, and teams want to get above-average or better power out of that position ideally. There’s a little Bryson Stott to that hitting profile, though here you’d also be projecting additional muscle adding to his bat speed some and to his power overall.

Every draft pick is a risk and projection, but what I like about Grindlinger is you can see 2 development paths to value as a top of the rotation lefty Starter and as probably more of a 5-6 hole hitter with solid defensive potential. Plenty of guys have failed at both those roles, but having that backup plan, especially if he lasts all the way into the comp picks is plenty valuable.

Nolan Gorman has been a long term project in the Cardinals franchise with some obvious upside. The obvious upside, of course, is the fact that when he makes good contact you could build a statue of his pose and the homerun. If you put a Gorman bomb up against a sunset, you might actually watch the Gorman bomb. Fans that have watched for any amount of time know that those statue-esque shots have not been coming often enough in the last few years.

The calendar has ticked by into mid-May and Gorman is running an 89 wRC+. He’s been more valuable than one might think because of a pleasant development on defense. There are games, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this, that he looks like he may be hanging out with the ghost of Nolan Arenado at third base to guide him. He’s currently in the 84th percentile in defensive value for all big leaguers. And, while defensive stats can notoriously flutter during a season, the eye test tells you he’s clearly on a different plane this season.

The purpose of this article is not to suggest that Nolan Gorman is a disaster. He’s not. He’s accumulated 0.4 fWAR thus far. While that’s not what anyone hoped for his value coming into the season, he’d end up at a passable 1.6 fWAR for the season at this pace. That’s playable, if disappointing. The bigger question comes if he remains Nolan Gorman, defensive specialist at the end of the year. The offensive rebuild clearly has four building blocks of varying degrees in Walker, Herrera, Wetherholt, and Burleson. Winn has been fairly good as well and his defense at short is going to keep him around for a while at a minimum.

Can you run a below average offensive third baseman long term if your goal is to compete for titles? The answer obviously comes with a multiplicity of variables around Gorman, but it’s not a strong case. So, what’s Gorman been doing this year to be stuck at his 89 wRC+? It’s a tale as old as time (well, as old as Gorman’s career anyway).

In short, Gorman is whiffing too much, but not providing enough power to offset his swing and miss game. He’s striking out 28.8% of the time, which is actually down a hair so far from his career high of 33.8% of the time last season. Can you be successful striking out at this rate? Well, let me introduce you to a gentleman named Jordan Walker who is striking out 28.4% of the time this season. So, the obvious answer is yes you can be successful, but you have to capitalize on your power at a healthy rate.

This is the perplexing part of Gorman’s game. The foundation for power is there. Statcast has him in the 94th percentile for Launch Angle Sweet Spot. Essentially, he’s launching the ball at an angle that should be doing damage. This stat tends not to be very predictive, but Statcast has tracked him at the very top of baseball in this metric his entire career. In other words, his swing shape produces the right angle of contact for big damage.

So if the K% isn’t great but also doesn’t prohibit him from being valuable offensively and his swing shape is producing the right kind of contact, where’s the hangup? He’s pulling the ball more than ever, hitting line drives and flyballs at career norms, so many of the normal sources aren’t much different than his career averages. What is different is how he’s currently handling changeups. The league has an obvious attack pattern and is exploiting it to the max.

Nolan Gorman is facing changeups over 20% of the time. That’s double his career averages, and has a ghastly -5.2 run value on them according to Fangraphs. For all his Launch Angle Sweet Spot brilliance, Gorman is only squaring up pitches in the 15th percentile and producing slightly below league average exit velos. The Cardinals have vastly limited his at bats against lefties this year, but righties are getting ahead of him and finishing him off with changeups that he’s just not handling well. 

The Faustian bargain with players like Gorman is that their whiffs will be offset by prodigious damage on pitches they do handle (see Jordan Walker again). At this moment, Gorman is not holding up his end of that bargain and pitchers have found a weakness that they are currently maxing out in their pursuit of securing outs from Nolan Gorman.

Because whiffs will always be his chokepoint on offense, Gorman is already operating with a ceiling on his capability. This is not new. To put a fine point on the end of this article though, how much longer will the Cardinals stick with him at these production rates? He’s accrued over 2000 PA at the MLB level and is 1% below league average at a 99 wRC+. This is, once again, not a crisis point, and there’s no one at his position that is beating down the door to St. Louis (can Blaze Jordan be credible over there??). So, they’re unlikely to make a move in the immediate future.

But, Gorman has done nothing to disabuse the notion that he’s not a core piece going forward. He has time to adjust this season, but I think it’s fair to ask at this point if he’s capable of adjusting to the level that the Cardinals need him to adjust. Hitting is extremely difficult, but if Nolan Gorman is going to stick around, he needs to start handling changeups better.

So, let’s hear it. What do the Cardinals do if Gorman continues producing offensively at this rate for the rest of the year? Thanks for reading! 

Marcell Ozuna is a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a fact that surprised me. The past two years, the Pirates largely used Andrew McCutchen as their designated hitter/spot outfielder, but they apparently grew tired of Cutch’s farewell tour and decided to bring in Ozuna instead. It was clear that would be a downgrade in character, but it has also been a downgrade in performance as well. (Not that McCutchen is tearing it up in Texas.)

After two straight seasons with an OPS over .900, Ozuna’s numbers decreased with the Braves in 2025. Entering his age 35 season, the Braves gambled that Ozuna would continue to decline, and based on early returns, they may have been correct. (I really don’t like it when the Braves make correct decisions.)

With the Pirates off to a good start to the season, there’s already calls to cut bait with Ozuna, and call up prospect Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia.

There’s every chance that Garcia is going to be terribly overhyped because of his name. (This relates to my theory that we’d feel differently about Orion Kerkering if he didn’t have an exotic name) But promising seasons like this one are few and far in between for the Pirates. Considering every day brings Paul Skenes one day closer to becoming an ex-Pirate, the team may not feel they can waste a chance at the playoffs hoping that Ozuna can turn things around.

Trivia

Last week’s answer: On August 23, 1993, the Rockies earned their second ever win in Philadelphia thanks in part to a home run by Charlie Hayes. WC Phil was correct.

This week’s question: Who is the Phillies’ franchise leader in home runs hit at PNC Park?

A matchup of aces – Disadvantage: Phillies?

On Sunday, we’re scheduled to get a great pitching matchup as Zack Wheeler is due to go against Paul Skenes. However, Wheeler wasn’t at his best when going head-to-head against other top pitchers last season.

• April 8 vs. Chris Sale: 5.1 IP/ 5 ER
• May 29 vs. Sale: 5.1 IP/6 ER
• July 12 vs. Yu Darvish: 6 IP/4 ER
• August 2 vs. Tarik Skubal: 6 IP/3ER

That was probably a fluke more than anything, since Wheeler has pitched in plenty of important games over the years, and come up big more often than not. But it would be nice if he could come close to what Mick Abel did last year when he pitched six shutout innings in opposition to Skenes, allowing the Phillies to eke out a 1-0 win.

Additional thought about the series

Despite the Pirates rarely fielding good teams, the Phillies have had quite a bit of trouble winning games at PNC Park recently. The Phillies have lost their last three series in Pittsburgh, including last year when they were swept in a three-game series in June.

They may not find victory any easier to come by this season, since this appears to be the most talented Pirates squad since their last playoff appearance in 2015. Thanks in part to some new arrivals, the Pirates rank fifth in the majors in runs scored. Prodigy shortstop Konnor Griffin has looked the part in the early going; free agent imports Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn have added much needed power to the lineup. And while he may be a disaster in the field, Oneil Cruz is dangerous in the leadoff spot.

The Pirates’ starters have also been good with veteran Mitch Keller and second year man Braxton Ashcroft forming a strong top of the rotation along with Skenes. But the bullpen is a different story. Closer Dennis Santana appears to have been demoted with former Phillie Gregory Soto getting the bulk of save opportunities now. Soto is off to a good start, but we all know he is good for a meltdown appearance every so often.

The Phillies’ key to victory may be keeping the game close in the early going and then striking in the later innings. (Though I certainly wouldn’t mind it if they scored a bunch of early runs either.)

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Cleveland Guardians have enjoyed plenty of success at home this season, posting a 13-9 record to date.

My Reds vs. Guardians predictions see Cleveland picking up its fourth consecutive win on home soil Friday night.

Let's get into why with my MLB picks for May 15.

Who will win Reds vs Guardians today: Guardians moneyline (-135)

Andrew Abbott's profile is littered with red flags. He ranks in the 28th percentile in xERA, the 15th percentile in xBA, and the 15th percentile in K%. He's allowing a lot of good contact and not missing many bats, which is a bad combination.

By comparison, Tanner Bibeesits 57th percentile in xERA, xBA, and K%. His xFIP and SIERA are also lower than his ERA, a signal better results are ahead.

Factor in the Cleveland Guardians are a Top-8 offense in average and wOBA vs. lefties and there is a lot working in their favor.

COVERS INTEL: Tanner Bibee has allowed an average of 1.9 earned runs over 20 home starts since the beginning of last season.

Reds vs Guardians Over/Under pick: Under 8.0 (-115)

Bibee has allowed five runs at home through five starts, and seven over his last eight dating back to last season. He is a nightmare to deal with in Cleveland.

His excellent play should continue against a Cincinnati Reds offense that ranks 26th in wOBA vs. righties on the road.

While Abbott is not pitching overly well, he should benefit from playing in a more pitcher-friendly ballpark. He has allowed five runs through three road starts this season – including nearly six shutout innings against the high-powered Cubs.

Reds vs Guardians odds

• Moneyline: Cincinnati +115 | Cleveland -135
• Run line: Cincinnati +1.5 (-175) | Cleveland -1.5 (+150)
• Over/Under: Over 8.0 (-110) | Under 8.0 (-110)

Reds vs Guardians trend

The Cleveland Guardians have hit the Game Total Under in 25 of their last 40 games at home (+9.35 units, 21% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Reds vs. Guardians.

How to watch Reds vs Guardians and game info

Reds vs Guardians latest injuries

Reds vs Guardians weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.